Resources for Victims of Gun Violence Act of 2021 This bill establishes the Advisory Council to Support Victims of Gun Violence. Among other things, the advisory council must assess the needs of victims of gun violence and disseminate information about helpful resources.
Public Health Funding Prevents Pandemics Act This bill increases annual funding for the Prevention and Public Health Fund for FY2022-FY2027. This fund supports prevention, wellness, and public health activities carried out by the Department of Health and Human Services, including researching and tracking public health threats.
Protecting Domestic Violence and Stalking Victims Act of 2021 This bill establishes new federal firearms restrictions for individuals who are convicted of misdemeanor stalking offenses. The bill expands the categories of persons who are prohibited from receiving, possessing, shipping, or transporting a firearm or ammunition. Specifically, it adds a new category of prohibited persons: persons convicted of a misdemeanor crime of stalking. The term misdemeanor crime of stalking means a misdemeanor stalking offense under federal, state, tribal, or municipal law and a course of harassment, intimidation, or surveillance of another person that (1) places such person in reasonable fear of harm to themselves, an immediate family member, a household member, or a spouse or intimate partner (including a current or former dating partner); or (2) causes emotional distress to such person. The bill also specifically prohibits dating partners who are convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence or who are subject to certain restraining orders from receiving, possessing, shipping, or transporting a firearm or ammunition. Currently, such restrictions generally only apply to spouses, co-parents, and cohabitants.
Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act This bill prohibits the Department of Energy (DOE) from using the Nuclear Waste Fund for certain expenditures involving repositories for disposing of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste. Specifically, DOE may not use the fund to pay for disposal in a repository or planning, construction, or operation of a repository unless DOE has entered into an agreement with the state in which the repository is located and with affected local governments and Indian tribes.
Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021 This bill modifies the funding rules and provides financial assistance for certain pension plans that are underfunded or insolvent. First, the bill expands the authority of, and provides funding for, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to provide special partition assistance to a multiemployer pension plan that is insolvent or at risk of insolvency. The bill expands eligibility for partition assistance, provides funding for a plan to reach a projected funded ratio of 80% over a 30-year period, and does not require a plan to repay such assistance. The bill further permits a multiemployer pension plan to elect to retain its funding zone status from the previous year for either (1) the first plan year beginning during the period from March 1, 2020, through February 28, 2021; or (2) the next succeeding plan year, as designated by the plan sponsor. A plan may also extend by five years the funding improvement or rehabilitation period if the plan is designated as in endangered or critical status for a plan year beginning in 2020 or 2021. A plan in critical and declining status may not suspend payment of plan benefits. Additionally, the bill adjusts the minimum funding standards for a multiemployer pension plan to account for investment losses and other losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic and modifies the PBGC guarantee formula to increase the maximum potential benefits under a multiemployer pension plan.
Background Check Expansion Act This bill establishes new background check requirements for firearm transfers between private parties (i.e., unlicensed individuals). Specifically, it prohibits a firearm transfer between private parties unless a licensed gun dealer, manufacturer, or importer first takes possession of the firearm to conduct a background check. The prohibition does not apply to certain firearm transfers, such as a gift between spouses in good faith.
This concurrent resolution commends the service and professionalism of the U.S. Capitol personnel who ensured Congress was able to continue operating in the wake of the security breach on January 6, 2021, and it expresses appreciation for the members of the news media reporting on the work of Congress despite the risk to their own safety.
Ensuring Increased Disaster Loans for Small Businesses Act or the EIDL for Small Businesses Act This bill authorizes and provides funding for additional Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loans and advances on such loans, and it modifies the requirements for providing these advances. Specifically, the bill authorizes an additional disaster loan to a prior recipient that received such a loan during the period between January 31, 2020, and December 31, 2021, up to an aggregate amount of $2 million. Further, the bill prohibits the SBA from imposing a maximum loan amount limit that is lower than $2 million for an initial disaster loan. The bill also requires the SBA to provide a recipient of an additional disaster loan an additional advance such that the total advance amount received by the applicant is $10,000. The SBA must submit a monthly report on the status of appropriations for disaster loans.
This bill requires the Joint Committee on the Library to obtain, and the Architect of the Capitol to permanently install in the U.S. Capitol or on the U.S. Capitol Grounds, a monument honoring Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Green Spaces, Green Vehicles Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of Energy (DOE), the Forest Service, and the National Park Service (NPS) to collaborate on a Green Spaces, Green Vehicles Initiative to facilitate the installation and use of zero-emissions vehicle infrastructure, including on land that is not National Forest System land or NPS land. The agencies shall facilitate such installation and use, including by acquiring zero-emissions vehicles for the fleets of the Forest Service and the NPS. For purposes of determining whether the acquisition of alternative fueled vehicles is practical for the fleet of the Forest Service or the NPS, DOE shall take into account the availability on National Forest System land or NPS land, as applicable, of zero-emissions vehicle infrastructure.
